These soldiers have chosen to put on that uniform and pay the cost." - Maj. Gen. Leslie Carroll

Just minutes after he ceremonially took the helm of the U.S. Army Reserve's largest command Saturday, Maj. Gen. Leslie Carroll addressed his soldiers who stood in military formation under the morning sun. One soldier had already passed out in the sweltering heat that radiated from the concrete on which they stood. And Carroll took note.

"Troops on the field: Shake it out," Carroll told them, offering his first words as their new commanding general. "If you feel weak, move into the shade."

With that, Carroll began what's expected to be a two-year tour as commander of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. Carroll replaced Maj. Gen. Peter Lennon as the leader of 36,000 Army reservists and civilians assigned to more than 440 combat service support units scattered among 34 states.

Those numbers make the 377th the largest reserve command, whose headquarters of 400 soldiers is at the air station and the James H. Diamond Army Reserve Center at New Orleans' lakefront, named for a Medal of Honor recipient from the Crescent City.

377th Theater Sustainment Command changes leadershipIn a ceremony Saturday (Aug. 16, 2014) at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Maj. Gen. Leslie Carroll replaced Maj. Gen. Peter Lennon at the helm of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, the largest command in the U.S. Army Reserve with more than 36,000 soldiers assigned to more than 440 units in 39 states. The 313th Army Band traveled from Birmingham, Ala., to provide music, and the Louisiana Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment, known as the Washington Artillery from Jackson Barracks, provided cannon salutes. (Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

The 377th's lineage dates to World War II, when it managed ports of embarkation and even did so under German attack in Normandy, France, following the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion. It has been a fixture in New Orleans since 1948, when the Army named it the 377th Major Port and designated it a reserve unit.

For more than a decade beginning with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, its soldiers were mobilized and sent to duty to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with such regularity that deployment ceremonies were routine. Its New Orleans-based soldiers deployed to Haiti in 2010, following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, to manage the logistics tied to the U.S. military's humanitarian response. For the Haiti mission, the 377th earned the Army Superior Unit Award in April.

As Maj. Gen. Glenn Lesniak, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, said Saturday, the 377th is "a very operationally engaged organization."

During his 27 months in command of the 377th, Lennon twice employed the "early-entry command post," a new concept in which teams of soldiers must be ready to deploy within 96 hours of being alerted, to set up and establish communications with the main command post that would follow. He also had a hand in drafting plans for the U.S. military's impending withdrawal from Afghanistan, Lesniak said.

"He is an outstanding role model for his soldiers and a great representative for the U.S. Army Reserve," Lesniak said of Lennon, who transfers to Fort Bragg, N.C., to become deputy commander for support at the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

Lennon also addressed the troops, noting their "sweaty faces and shaky knees" as they stood outside the hangar on the Navy's airplane parking apron. He, Lesniak and Carroll ceremonially inspected the troops, albeit while hitching a ride in a Humvee. The 313th Army Band traveled from Birmingham, Ala., to provide the musical backdrop.

Lennon praised the soldiers and their ability to handle whatever comes their way. "The 377th will be ready," Lennon said.

Carroll steps into his new job after serving as chief of staff for U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg. He's no stranger to the Bayou State: He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern Louisiana University before he was commissioned an Army officer through the University of Georgia's ROTC program in 1978. During his career he has served in Army chemical units, deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for the 1991 Persian Gulf War and commanded joint military logistics operations in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012.

"You're the right leader at the right time to take this command to the next level," Lesniak said of Carroll, who lives in Covington, Ga.

Carroll said his father was a Navy Seabee who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Two of his uncles made military service their careers, in the Air Force and the Navy. "To those men who inspired me to be here today, thank you for your love and support," he said.

He, too, praised the soldiers under his command, most of whom joined the Army since the Sept. 11, 2011, knowing the nation was at war. Almost all of the troops have deployed overseas at least once, and 1,940 of them are currently deployed, Carroll said.

"Those soldiers have chosen to put on that uniform and pay the cost," he said. "I will give you my all and spend myself for you."